Element #6: Assessment, Feedback and Evaluation Strategies that Measure Student Learning Outcomes as well as Overall Course Quality

This last quality course element addresses the overall quality of the learning environment and course and includes assessment of student learning outcomes. This element assures that assessments align to the course/lesson objectives. The assessment of student learning outcomes is also implied and embedded in the previous five elements. Without having an assessment component embedded within each of those five elements, it would be impossible to measure the quality of the resources, the organization of the course design, the engagement of the learning activities, or the sense of community. The process related to this evaluation element looks for different types of evidence such as formative and summative assessment measures, a thoughtful and continuous improvement approach to assessment, as well as student opportunities for identifying areas for course improvement (American Association for Higher Education, 1991; Anderson Elloumi (Eds), 2009; Sewell, Frith & Colvin, 2010).

CTLE provides services to help instructors collect feedback on their course such as consultations, syllabi reviews, mid- and end-of-term student feedback instruments. In an online environment it is also important that instructors provide frequent, timely feedback to students and provide opportunities for students to practice and apply knowledge as they receive their formative feedback (Huba & Freed, 2000; Suskie, 2004). By applying this element in their courses, instructors can identify areas for course improvement and use data to guide their online teaching practice (Banta, 2002).

More information about assessment, feedback, and evaluation strategies is available at Phase 4 Revise.

Element #6 References

American Association for Higher Education. (1991). Nine principles of good practice for assessing student learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus. http://tlt.suny.edu/originaldocumentation/library/assessment.htm

Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. (Eds). (2009). Theory and Practice of Online Learning, 2nd Ed. Athabasca University, Canada http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120146

Banta, T. W. (2002). Characteristics of effective outcomes assessment: Foundations and examples. In T. W. Banta Associates, Building a scholarship of assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Huba, M. E. & Freed, J. E. (2000). Applying principles of good practice in learner-centered assessment. In Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning (pp. 65-90). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn Bacon.

Sewell, J. P., Frith, K. H., & Colvin, M. M. (2010). Online assessment: A primer. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 6 (1), 297-305.

Suskie, L. (2004). What are good assessment practices? In Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide. Bolton, MA: Anker.